Tuesday, February 16, 2010

I thought that as we brush off the snow from the current storm hitting New England and the dust from a long weekend, you might want to use this forum as an opportunity to comment on the issue of the Learning Center branding.

As reported in December, the process of rebranding has been brought to a subcommittee of the Learning Center corporate board of directors. A team led by Eric Ginette has been provided all the responses you have provided this office up until now as well as all the research put into the process to date.

I understand that this subcommittee plans to make final recommendations that may include a formal motion that will determine the future brand of our charity.

While no firm naming conventions are currently on the table, a few broad themes have been discussed - paradigms that might effect a final recommendation. If you have any thoughts on these issues, you might weigh in by commenting to this posting.

Should the name primarily lead with a Masonic connection or not (perhaps followed by sponsored by...)?

Should the program be a "clinic", a "program", a "center" or something else?

Is keeping the "teddy bear" a good idea? If so, should it be changed in any way?

12
comments:

I'd take out the "Masonic" from our name, it gives the connotation that we're indoctrinating children with our philosphy. While that may not be all bad, it isn't what we do. Also, I think we need a subtitle to tell what we do. There are many learning centers out there, I'd like to see us as " (Location, e.g. Greater Boston) Learning Center for Children, The Dyslexia Project". If we're looking for corporate sponsorship or grants, then publicly I wouldn't tie us to the fraternity, but I wouldn't shy away from it either, we are and should remain a program of the Scottish Rite.

I agree with Rob Huke. I like (Location)Learning Center for Children with Dyslexia. I am not opposed to a new logo, but think we should keep the teddy bear logo even if it isn't the one we primarily use.

The title of our centers stating (Location) Learning Center for Children with Dyslexia states clearly our mission. We could show our connection to Scottish Rite with a subheading.

The Learning Centers in the south use Scottish Rite Learning Center of (location). This title shows the connection to Scottish Rite, but does not clearly state what they do.

The bear logo needs updating. We could have a bear logo with different outfits to make it more appropriate for different age groups or events. (ex. bear with motorcycle outfit; summer bear with sunglasses and beach or picnic outfit; jogging bear; formal wear bear)

It is my view that that we continue a Masonic connection. My participation and service in our craft for 55 years influences me that the light of this gentle fraternity should not be hiddenfrom the world. We should continue our current efforts in our Learning Centers for Dyslexia Children. Retain the the Masonic name and presence so that the communities who we serve respond to us a caring institution. The public bodies in Hasbrouck Heights,New Jersey such as the Mayor and Council and the Board of Education have responded to the HHLC and the local Masonic Lodge (Euclid No. 136) because of the community outreach by freemasons. There is sincere support and encouragement by the leadership in the communities and Masonic lodges in the area.

Our Board brainstormed the question, "What should we name our Center" and came up with two suggestions. 1) Masonic Center for Dyslexia and 2) Children's Dyslexia Center. We were unanimous on the name including dyslexia because that is what we are about and center because that is our focus. The non-masons on our Board favored suggestion 2) and the Masons favored 1), naturally or not.

"Dyslexia" was a high vote getter in our brainstorming session and I personally believe it should be in our name.

The Logo was discussed but not conclusively. We have a Board Member whose wife is a Graphic Artist. I asked him to come up with some ideas that we can discuss at our February 22 Meeting.

I think the Teddy Bear is not representative of our mission. Perhaps a logo that reflects reading or learning would be better. We will submit some ideas next week.

If there is a concern that some students are too old for the teddy bear (and I do like the idea of various outfits), then the word "children" should also be a concern. As a former teacher, I have found that students beyond elementary school do not want to be called children. Learning Center for Dyslexia with the Masonic affiliation in the subtitle may be a good alternative.